Ford Dealer Builds Supercharged, 650hp F-150 Lightning Tribute

It wasn’t the first sport truck, nor was it the fastest, but the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning is still one of the most famous machines in the niche market of high-performance pickups. However, we haven’t been treated to a factory-built Lightning since the 2004 model year, when Ford officially put the now-supercharged second-gen truck out to pasture, not-quite-replacing it with the SVT Raptor in 2010.

That’s where Pioneer Ford of Bremen, Georgia, comes in. The good folks at the dealership felt it was high time to reintroduce a new generation of truck enthusiasts to the Lightning, so they made one of their own using the same formula as the original. The F-150’s lightest configuration, a regular cab short bed in the XL trim level, is matched up to a very powerful engine from within Ford’s stable. Although the tribute’s Styleside bed recalls the first SVT pickup of 1993, its Mustang-sourced Coyote V-8 and Roush supercharger are more akin to the second Lightning. With 650 pavement-shredding horses, the tribute outstrips both its mentors by hundreds upon hundreds.

The illusion continues with a passenger-side exit exhaust with two tips, just like the first and second-generation SVT F-150. Chunky 22-inch wheels with a Lightning-ish design add a little modernized heritage as well. With a Ford factory warranty covering the truck and a three-year warranty from Roush for the supercharger, it’s almost as if the company brought the Lightning back from the dead. And what's more impressive, the Pioneer Lightning is a relative performance bargain, at just under $50,000!

This isn’t the first such tribute from Pioneer Ford (that honor goes to the red example above), and the dealership says it won’t be the last. Each will be slightly improved compared to the previous one. For the Lightning’s next appearance, may we suggest a monochromatic paint scheme and custom Flareside bed outside, sueded upholstery and white-faced gauges inside, and even more power under the hood?